Reconfiguring hospital services

The NHS is entering a period of acute financial pressure and needs to find up to £20 billion in productivity improvements over the next few years. There are particular challenges for the many hospital trusts that enter the ‘cold’ financial climate with deficits and legacy debt.

Reconfiguring Hospital Services: Lessons from South East London considers whether reconfiguration of hospital services is an appropriate response to the need to drive up quality and drive down costs. Based on detailed analysis of proposed reconfiguration in South East London, it draws out important lessons to inform the debate about the merits of reconfiguration of hospital services elsewhere in England.